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Zootopia impressions
So, I'm a bit late to the game on this one but I recently watched Zootopia. I can't exactly call these "first impressions" though because people have been talking about it for months, so these are just my impressions upon seeing the movie after having everyone saying everything about the movie. I was expecting some kind of hype backlash when watching it (which usually happens during scenarios like this), but thankfully that didn't happen this time. I enjoyed the movie. Most of it. There are some negatives, and I do have some criticisms of the movie. But for the most time it was a pleasurable experience. And there will be spoilers in this journal entry. I will say, it was a pretty daring move for Disney to make a film about prejudice like this, in the modern era. Especially since their previous tackling on the subject, Pocahontas... ''wasn't the best. ("He's not like you and me/which means he must be evil!" A little on the nose, aren't we?). ''Zootopia is better than Pocahontas in every way in this regard. This movie tackles prejudice really well. By setting this story in a fictional world, they're able to avoid bringing up specific real world prejudices. A lot of people have compared the prejudice going on in Zootopia from everything to race and gender, and the movie intentionally keeps it vague. Things are presented as complex, and when I do an admirable animation on this movie I'll explain things towards that effect. How it deals with prejudice really gives it an edge in that direction. For example, both Nick and Judy have faced prejudices in their lives and they each have their own way of dealing with it. Both Judy and Nick had a horrible experience as a child and the movie really shows how badly they hurt. It's stated that Judy got into her job through a government program, and that didn't magically make everyone accept her into it. Which side "has the power" in Zootopia is kept vague. Predators are only 10% of the population, but the mayor is a predator and animals didn't think Judy could be a police officer because she was a bunny. Dawn says she's been pushed around by predators her whole life, and calls her and Judy "the little guys." I think that this was probably for the best, as drawing a direct parallel was bound to get... messy. The movie isn't really about racism, but about prejudice in general. I really like our main characters, Judy and Nick. I've heard it said that how much you relate to these characters defines how well you like the movie. And I identify with each of them in different ways. Judy has spent her whole life trying to be more that what she says people say that she could or should be. She proves that she's more than her biology by using her strengths (speed and agility, and quick wit) to get around her weaknesses (her small size). This is something that I've been doing, or at least trying to do, my entire life. As for Nick, well getting bullied and deciding that the world will never hurt you again is definitely relateable. Nick was my favorite character in the movie, but that was probably more for his humor. This is a very funny movie. Perhaps the funniest Disney has been in quite some time, at least since The Emperor's New Groove. There were all kinds of amazing jokes. There kind of had to be, since the plot was kind of a typical by the numbers "buddy cop movie." The world of animals and the humor really helped the story. It's a movie that focuses heavily on the characters and the comedy, not so much the story. And that's fine sometimes. But there are some things that I didn't like. Namely one major thing - the villain. First of all, can Disney please stop it with the "surprise, this random guy is actually the villain!" I mean it's becoming a cliche at this point. Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. ''That's 3 out of the last 4 movies. And this movie is a perfect example of exactly why that's a problem. Let me point something out that you may have missed. What Dawn Bellweather does is as evil as Frollo, from ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The only difference between the two is that you know Frollo is evil from the beginning. He has time to stand out as a villain and it makes the movie all the more powerful. We get a full idea of why he does what he does, or at least we fully understand what he feels. Frollo is a great villain. We randomly find out that Dawn Bellweather did it in the last two minutes of the plot because... she's racist. That's pretty much it. Throughout the movie she looks meek and timid and putting a frowny face on that and a gun in her hand doesn't make her appear to be a villain. They establish Doug as a better villain than they do as Dawn. Commander Lyle was better established as a villain in Atlantis. I mean if Dawn was clearly the villain from the start we could have established a backstory, like both Judy and Nick had. And doing something like that would have made the movie even better, as it shows the kind of damage that even prejudice towards a group that hurt you could have done. Anything is better than "I'm racist, lol." At the very least, Dawn shouldn't have taken Mayor Lionheart's insults in stride. Or at least they shouldn't have tried to make it seem like she was taking Lionheart's insults in stride. Because they tried so hard to keep the Bellweather revelation a secret (too hard even), they scrubbed her of anything that could have made her a memorable villain (or at least memorable in a good way). But besides that, any maybe some of the more annoying buddy movie clichies ("I totally hate you now!" seconds later "Nah, we're friends again") I found this movie really enjoyable. Not only is the comedy really good, but the characters (most of them) are really fun. Although I don't know if it was the wisest idea to elect Cave Johnson as your mayor. And yes... the no pun intended (movie beat me to it), elephant in the room, is the message of the movie. I think it's valuable, especially in our current times where "punching up" is not only accepted, but commonly practiced. This is a journal in its own right, but "punching up" really tends to make people who probably have great intentions look like hypocrites in the public eye. That' even ignoring the fact, that anyone (even the most ardent racists/sexists/whatevers) can find some way in their mind that what they're saying is "punching up." But there will be time to talk about that too. I mean if you want me to write a journal on the topic, I could certainly do that. Category:Miscellaneous